The fact that it wasn’t for free meant that Ghislain had taken more than enough spoils to compensate for the runestones he had given.

Claude, still sweating nervously, asked cautiously, “So, Count Perdiem and his retainers know nothing about this?”

“They don’t. Digald was infamous for being dirt poor. Everyone assumes they spent all their wealth on the war. That’s what I reported, too.”

Ghislain had rushed to Digald as soon as the war was over.

While one of his intentions was to eliminate Count Digald to prevent any future threats, a larger motive was to gather the nobles’ wealth.

No matter how poor a territory might be, nobles were still nobles.

Moreover, the Digald territory was notorious for exploiting its people. That meant the lord and his retainers had plenty of hidden assets.

Claude let out a dry laugh as he inspected the chest full of gold coins.

“Well, there’s certainly a lot here. I can see why the territory was in such bad shape.”

“Oh, not all of this is from Digald. On the way back, I looted some baronies, too.”

“…What?”

“I pillaged all the territories that participated in the war. It was on the way, so I figured, why not?”

“Wow… And you kept it all for yourself?”

“Who else would I share it with? I hate letting anyone take what’s mine.”

There wasn’t an ounce of shame in Ghislain’s response, and Claude closed his eyes, trying to suppress his thoughts.

Isn’t your father ‘anyone’? And wasn’t it supposed to be his in the first place? This guy isn’t a noble; he’s a bandit in noble’s clothing.

Claude had encountered plenty of greedy nobles in the Kingdom of Seiron, but he had never met one as blatantly obsessed with money as Ghislain.

“Uh, you wouldn’t happen to have some secret birth story, would you?”

“What do you mean by that?”

Ghislain glared at him, making Claude wave his hands in denial.

“No, it’s just that you haven’t told Count Perdiem about any of this. Why do you have to keep all of it for yourself? Won’t your father be hurt?”

“I guarantee you, it’s much better if I use it all myself.”

Even if Perdiem got his hands on it, it would all just end up getting wasted on plugging holes.

They were barely managing to survive the present, let alone plan for the future.

It was better for Ghislain to use the money where it was needed.

And besides, Perdiem was already benefiting from his actions.

Listening to Ghislain, Claude’s eyes lit up.

Though surprised, he wasn’t about to let this opportunity slip away.

“Heh, if you don’t ease up on my workload, maybe I’ll have to tell Perdiem about this…”

Before he could finish his sentence, Ghislain rolled up his sleeves with an evil grin.

“Ah, I was waiting for you to say that. I don’t like warnings that are all talk and no action.”

“Huh? Aaah!”

A few moments later, Claude picked himself up from the corner of the storage room, sniffling.

“I’ll stay quiet until the day I die.”

“Good, remember that. It wouldn’t really matter if you did say something, but there’s no need to cause any unnecessary tension, is there?”

Ghislain clapped his hands, and as if on cue, Wendy and a few mercenaries entered the room.

“Huh?”

Claude was startled.

When they had entered, there hadn’t been a single person around. He had no idea when these mercenaries had been waiting.

Without a word, Wendy and the mercenaries greeted them and began packing up the wealth.

Claude, still stunned, quickly shook his head.

He really predicted everything…

It was clear that Ghislain had anticipated them running out of money and had also known that Claude would come looking for him. He had even called in the mercenaries in advance to haul the loot.

Ghislain draped an arm around Claude’s shoulders with a smile.

“Let me know if you run out of money again. Don’t waste time worrying—just focus on your work. I’ll take care of the funds.”

“…Tch.”

Claude turned his head away, his pride wounded.

Despite how reckless and unconventional Ghislain was, he always found a way to resolve issues when they arose.

His methods were anything but normal, but that very abnormality worked, and that was the real problem.

“Well, with this half, we should be fine for now.”

“Good, start preparing to leave.”

With the money from Ghislain, Claude quickly purchased the necessary materials.

He made sure to thoroughly train Lowell on the tasks that needed constant supervision while he prepared to head to the capital.

While Claude was busy with preparations, Ghislain made a trip to Perdiem.

He needed someone to manage the territory’s military and oversee basic training while he was away.

Commander Randolph should be able to handle it well enough.

The best-case scenario would be teaching the mercenaries mana cultivation techniques while he was away, but there wasn’t enough time for that.

The majority of the mercenaries didn’t know how to control mana, so like he had done with Vanessa, he would have to guide them individually.

Training hundreds of mercenaries in mana cultivation was impossible while Ghislain had other pressing matters.

I’ll have to make a new contract before I can teach them the cultivation method. For now, it’s better to teach them the basics they’re lacking.

Randolph could at least teach them basic military discipline and the foundational knowledge needed for a proper army.

It would benefit both the mercenaries and the newly recruited soldiers.

Randolph nodded in agreement without much argument, but Zbaltor frowned and asked, “You’re going to the capital? You’re a lord. How can a lord leave his territory just for business?”

“Yes, it’s an important matter that I need to handle personally.”

“Hah, how can a lord carry goods around like a mere merchant? People will mock you.”

“I don’t care. What matters is not my pride.”

Zbaltor wasn’t pleased with his son’s attitude.

Perhaps because it was his first time managing a fief, Ghislain didn’t seem to grasp the weight of being a lord.

“If that’s your reasoning, then I won’t allow it. Now that you’re a lord, you need to understand how heavy and important your responsibilities are.”

Zbaltor wasn’t normally this strict.

However, he wanted to teach Ghislain indirectly that being a lord came with great responsibility.

Of course, this approach didn’t work on Ghislain.

“One year’s worth of food supplies.”

“Huh?”

“I’ll provide the Perdiem territory with a year’s worth of food after I return.”

“…Now that I think about it, it’s about time for you to broaden your horizons beyond the North. Go, and return safely. I’ll send Randolph as soon as he’s ready.”

Zbaltor smiled warmly, patting his son on the shoulder.

It was too much money to refuse.

Although Zbaltor had been easily convinced, Ghislain faced more opposition when he returned to the territory.

Both the retainers, obsessed with decorum, and even Belinda and Gillian, who knew Ghislain well, had their objections to his departure.

“Just send someone else! Why do you have to do it?”

“My lord, if you personally take charge, people will mock you. You have Claude as the head of the trading company, so why are you stepping in yourself?”

“No, I have to do it myself. It’s the fastest way. Besides, I’m not just going for business; I have other things to take care of in the capital.”

No matter how many times they tried to persuade him, Ghislain wouldn’t budge, as usual.

Belinda and Gillian eventually gave up with a sigh.

As always, they would go with him and throw themselves in the way if he tried anything reckless.

A few days later, Ghislain inspected the multiple wagons loaded with goods and smiled in satisfaction.

“The first shipment should be just about right.”

“Do you think we’ll be able to sell all of it?”

“As long as we market it right, it’ll be fine. Once the nobles try it, they’ll go crazy for it. Don’t worry.”

Though Ghislain was full of confidence, Claude scratched his chin uncertainly.

The cosmetics’ effectiveness was undeniable, and sooner or later, word would spread.

But the initial shipment was just too large.

It wasn’t the type of product that could be stored for long, so Claude couldn’t understand how they planned to sell all of it.

On top of that, a lot of money had gone into preparing the wagons carrying the cosmetics.

Each wagon had freezing magic circles engraved on them to preserve the products, with a runestone embedded in each one to maintain the spells.

“Are you sure this is okay? If the nobles don’t buy it, we’ll suffer a huge loss. Freezing isn’t a cure-all.”

“I told you not to worry. We’ll sell every last bit. Besides, it’s not like it spoils easily.”

“Ugh, whatever you say. I guess you’ve got a plan, my lord.”

Resigned, Claude sighed.

This time, they were dealing with nobles that even Ghislain couldn’t treat lightly.

Claude couldn’t even begin to predict how this brash lord intended to convince them and promote the cosmetics.

“My lord! We’re all set over here!”

Belinda came over, smiling brightly, followed by around twenty attendants loaded with goods.

“Ugh… We don’t need to bring so many people.”

“We’re nobles. We need to keep up appearances. Don’t you know about first impressions? You can’t show any sign of weakness in the capital.”

Ghislain was about to say something, but Belinda cut him off firmly.

“If we’re not careful, they’ll treat us like country bumpkins. It’s bad enough that they’re going to laugh at you for acting like a merchant.”

Ghislain couldn’t argue with that, so he closed his mouth.

Right on time, Gillian and Kaor arrived, fully armed and leading a group of fifty mercenaries, lining up in front of Ghislain.

“We’re ready, my lord.”

“Why are you bringing so many mercenaries? We don’t need this many.”

“The road to the capital is long. We need enough men to protect such valuable goods, and we have to make sure you’re safe, too.”

Gillian stood firm, making it clear that he wouldn’t budge on this. Ghislain sighed deeply.

“Fine. Since we’ve prepared this much, we might as well all go see the capital. No one else is coming, right?”

Belinda and Gillian both nodded.

“Oh, wait. My lord, what are we going to call this? Did you pick a name for it yet?”

“A name?”

“Yes. If we’re going to introduce it and market it, we need a name.”

“Right… Hmm… How about ‘Lovely Bling Bling’? Isn’t it cute?”

Claude clutched his stomach, laughing.

“Wow! What’s with that naming sense? What is this, a girl’s daydream?”

The name was so ridiculous that all of Claude’s concerns and worries disappeared.

Ghislain glared at him expressionlessly, and Claude quickly looked away, pretending he hadn’t seen anything.

Belinda clicked her tongue and said, “That won’t work. Nobles expect names with a certain elegance.”

“What’s wrong with ‘Bling Bling’? I think it’s cute. You really don’t like it?”

Ghislain turned to Gillian, who gritted his teeth and answered.

“It’s… fine.”

Ghislain then glanced at Wendy, who was standing next to Claude.

She tried to keep a straight face, but her lips twitched, betraying her amusement. She didn’t even need to say anything.

“My lord, it’s really not a good idea,” Belinda said, frowning.

Ghislain sighed and revealed the original name of the product.

“Deneb.”

Deneb was the name that the Duke of Delphine had given the product in Ghislain’s past life.

It was named after an ancient star, or so the story went.

It was a cool name, but because the Duke of Delphine had named it, Ghislain hadn’t felt any attachment to it.

That’s why he had tried to go with ‘Lovely Bling Bling,’ but no one seemed to like it.

“Hm, not bad. It feels like something nobles would like,” Belinda nodded in approval.

Meanwhile, Kaor, listening from the back, tilted his head and thought, Lovely Bling Bling? I actually like that one better.

Clearly, people’s tastes varied.

With the name decided, all that was left was to head to the capital and start selling.

Ghislain mounted his horse and looked around at his loyal companions. Seeing their reliability brought a smile to his face.

Grinning broadly, Ghislain spurred his horse forward and shouted, “Let’s head to the capital!”